# Parliamentary constituencies in Hertfordshire

The county of Hertfordshire in England is divided into twelve parliamentary constituencies. Each of the twelve elects a Member of Parliament (MP) to represent it at the United Kingdom (UK) Parliament in Westminster. As of the 2024 general election, seven of Hertfordshire's MPs are from the Labour Party, three are Conservatives, and two are Liberal Democrats. The county currently has one urban borough constituency (BC) – Watford - while the other eleven are classed as more rural county constituencies (CC).

## Constituencies

Boundaries of the seats were amended by the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies carried out by the Boundary Commission for England, which came into effect from the 2024 general election. Each constituency is made up of whole or partial local government wards, which elect councillors at English local elections. Eleven are designated as county constituencies (in which candidates can spend more per head than their borough counterparts). One is a borough constituency.
Conservative †  Labour ‡  Liberal Democrat ¤
| Name | Electorate | Majority | Member of Parliament | Nearest opposition |
| Broxbourne CC | 75,454 | 2,858 | Lewis Cocking † | Catherine Deakin ‡ |
| Harpenden and Berkhamsted CC | 71,635 | 10,708 | Victoria Collins ¤ | Nigel Gardner † |
| Hemel Hempstead CC | 70,496 | 4,857 | David Taylor ‡ | Andrew Williams † |
| Hertford and Stortford CC | 75,396 | 4,748 | Josh Dean ‡ | Julie Marson † |
| Hertsmere CC | 73,256 | 7,992 | Oliver Dowden † | Josh Tapper ‡ |
| Hitchin CC | 72,112 | 7,109 | Alistair Strathern ‡ | Bim Afolami † |
| North East Hertfordshire CC | 76,849 | 1,923 | Chris Hinchliff ‡ | Nikki da Costa † |
| South West Hertfordshire CC | 71,552 | 4,456 | Gagan Mohindra † | Sally Symington ¤ |
| St Albans CC | 70,881 | 19,834 | Daisy Cooper ¤ | James Spencer † |
| Stevenage CC | 70,370 | 6,618 | Kevin Bonavia ‡ | Alex Clarkson † |
| Watford BC | 70,576 | 4,723 | Matt Turmaine ‡ | Dean Russell † |
| Welwyn Hatfield CC | 74,535 | 3,799 | Andrew Lewin ‡ | Grant Shapps † |

## Boundary changes
### 2024

For the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which redrew the constituency map ahead of the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the Boundary Commission for England opted to combine Hertfordshire with Bedfordshire as a sub-region of the East of England region, with the creation of the cross-county boundary constituency of Hitchin. As a result, Hitchin and Harpenden was abolished, with Harpenden being included in a new constituency named Harpenden and Berkhamsted, along with the towns of Berkhamsted and Tring, previously part of South West Hertfordshire - which in turn gained areas of Three Rivers District, primarily form Watford. These changes had knock-on effects in the rest of the county, with most of the rest of the constituencies undergoing relatively minor boundary changes, the only exceptions being North East Hertfordshire and Stevenage, which remained effectively unchanged (save minor realignments with new ward boundaries).
| Former name | Boundaries 2010-2024 | Current name | Boundaries 2024–present |
| Broxbourne BC Hemel Hempstead CC Hertford and Stortford CC Hertsmere CC Hitchin and Harpenden CC North East Hertfordshire CC South West Hertfordshire CC St Albans CC Stevenage CC Watford BC Welwyn Hatfield CC | 2010-2024 constituencies in Hertfordshire | Broxbourne CC Harpenden and Berkhamsted CC Hemel Hempstead CC Hertford and Stortford CC Hertsmere CC Hitchin CC North East Hertfordshire CC South West Hertfordshire CC St Albans CC Stevenage CC Watford BC Welwyn Hatfield CC | Current constituencies in Hertfordshire |

### 2010

For the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect ahead of the 2010 general election, the Boundary Commission for England retained the same eleven Hertfordshire constituencies that had existed previously. It did however make slight boundary changes to reduce electoral disparity. The recommendations, which became law with the Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007, also ensured that local government wards in Hertfordshire would no longer be split between two Parliamentary constituencies.
| | Name |
| 1 | Broxbourne BC |
| 2 | Hemel Hempstead CC |
| 3 | Hertford and Stortford CC |
| 4 | Hertsmere CC |
| 5 | Hitchin and Harpenden CC |
| 6 | North East Hertfordshire CC |
| 7 | South West Hertfordshire CC |
| 8 | St Albans CC |
| 9 | Stevenage CC |
| 10 | Watford BC |
| 11 | Welwyn Hatfield CC |

## Results history

Primary data source: House of Commons research briefing - General election results from 1918 to 2019

### 2024

The number of votes cast for each political party who fielded candidates in constituencies comprising Hertfordshire in the 2024 general election were as follows:
| Party | Votes | % | Change from 2019 | Seats | Change from 2019 |
| Labour | 177,658 | 30.5% | 7.0% | 7 | 7 |
| Conservative | 177,264 | 30.4% | 22.3% | 3 | 7 |
| Liberal Democrats | 108,704 | 18.6% | 0.3% | 2 | 1 |
| Reform UK | 80,967 | 13.9% | New | 0 | New |
| Green | 33,850 | 5.8% | 3.3% | 0 | 0 |
| Others | 5,492 | 0.8% | 2.2% | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 583,127 | 100.0 | | 12 | |

### Percentage votes

| Election year | 1974 (Feb) | 1974 (Oct) | 1979 | 1983 | 1987 | 1992 | 1997 | 2001 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2024 |
| Labour | 35.0 | 38.5 | 34.4 | 19.0 | 19.8 | 25.5 | 39.7 | 38.9 | 30.2 | 19.0 | 22.4 | 32.1 | 23.5 | 30.5 |
| Conservative | 40.4 | 41.3 | 51.1 | 50.3 | 52.0 | 53.3 | 40.6 | 41.8 | 44.8 | 50.4 | 52.6 | 54.3 | 52.7 | 30.4 |
| Liberal Democrat$^1$ | 24.4 | 19.8 | 13.2 | 30.2 | 27.8 | 20.3 | 16.0 | 16.9 | 21.4 | 24.0 | 8.7 | 9.9 | 18.3 | 18.6 |
| Reform UK | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 13.9 |
| Green Party | - | - | - | - | * | * | * | * | * | 0.8 | 3.6 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 5.8 |
| UKIP | - | - | - | - | - | - | * | * | * | 3.3 | 12.5 | 1.2 | * | * |
| Other | 0.2 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 2.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 3.0 | 0.8 |
$^1$1974 & 1979 - Liberal Party; 1983 & 1987 - SDP-Liberal Alliance
* Included in Other

### Seats

| Election year | 1974 (Feb) | 1974 (Oct) | 1979 | 1983 | 1987 | 1992 | 1997 | 2001 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2024 |
| Labour | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Conservative | 7 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 3 |
| Liberal Democrat$^1$ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Total | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 |
$^1$1974 & 1979 - Liberal Party; 1983 & 1987 - SDP-Liberal Alliance
* 1 2 Includes the constituency of Hitchin, which also lies partly in Bedfordshire.

### Maps
#### 1885-1910

* 1885
* 1886
* 1892
* 1895
* 1900
* 1906
* Jan 1910
* Dec 1910

#### 1918-1945

* 1918
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1929
* 1931
* 1935
* 1945

#### 1950-1970

* 1950
* 1951
* 1955
* 1959
* 1964
* 1966
* 1970

#### 1974-present

* Feb 1974
* Oct 1974
* 1979
* 1983
* 1987
* 1992
* 1997
* 2001
* 2005
* 2010
* 2015
* 2017
* 2019
* 2024

## Timeline

    Former constituency
    * Constituency for the 2024 United Kingdom general election
| Constituency | Years | Years | Years | Years | Years | Years | Years | Years | Years | Years | Years | Years | Years |
| Constituency | 1290–1298 | 1298–1307 | 1307–1852 | 1852–1885 | 1885–1918 | 1918–1945 | 1945–1950 | 1950–1955 | 1955–1974 | 1974–1983 | 1983–1997 | 1997–2024 | 2024-present* |
| Hertfordshire | 1290–1885 | 1290–1885 | 1290–1885 | 1290–1885 | | | | | | | | | |
| Hertford | | 1298–1974 | 1298–1974 | 1298–1974 | 1298–1974 | 1298–1974 | 1298–1974 | 1298–1974 | 1298–1974 | | | | |
| St Albans | | | 1307–1852 | | 1885–* | 1885–* | 1885–* | 1885–* | 1885–* | 1885–* | 1885–* | 1885–* | 1885–* |
| Watford | | | | | 1885–* | 1885–* | 1885–* | 1885–* | 1885–* | 1885–* | 1885–* | 1885–* | 1885–* |
| Hitchin | | | | | 1885–1983 | 1885–1983 | 1885–1983 | 1885–1983 | 1885–1983 | 1885–1983 | | | 2024–* |
| Hemel Hempstead | | | | | | 1918–1983 | 1918–1983 | 1918–1983 | 1918–1983 | 1918–1983 | | 1997–* | 1997–* |
| Barnet | | | | | | | 1945–1974 | 1945–1974 | 1945–1974 | Transferred to Greater London | Transferred to Greater London | Transferred to Greater London | Transferred to Greater London |
| South West Hertfordshire | | | | | | | | 1950–* | 1950–* | 1950–* | 1950–* | 1950–* | 1950–* |
| East Hertfordshire | | | | | | | | | 1955–1983 | 1955–1983 | | | |
| Hertford and Stevenage | | | | | | | | | | 1974–1983 | | | |
| South Hertfordshire | | | | | | | | | | 1974–1983 | | | |
| Welwyn Hatfield | | | | | | | | | | 1974–* | 1974–* | 1974–* | 1974–* |
| North Hertfordshire | | | | | | | | | | | 1983–1997 | | |
| West Hertfordshire | | | | | | | | | | | 1983–1997 | | |
| Broxbourne | | | | | | | | | | | 1983–* | 1983–* | 1983–* |
| Hertford and Stortford | | | | | | | | | | | 1983–* | 1983–* | 1983–* |
| Hertsmere | | | | | | | | | | | 1983–* | 1983–* | 1983–* |
| Stevenage | | | | | | | | | | | 1983–* | 1983–* | 1983–* |
| Hitchin and Harpenden | | | | | | | | | | | | 1997–2024 | |
| North East Hertfordshire | | | | | | | | | | | | 1997–* | 1997–* |
| Harpenden and Berkhamsted | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2024–* |

## Historical representation by party

A cell marked → (with a different colour background to the preceding cell) indicates that the previous MP continued to sit under a new party name.

### 1885 to 1918

Conservative  Independent  Liberal
| Constituency | 1885 | 1886 | 1892 | 1895 | 98 | 1900 | 04 | 1906 | Jan 10 | Dec 10 | 11 | 16 |
| Hertford | A. Smith | A. Smith | A. Smith | A. Smith | E. Cecil | A. H. Smith | A. H. Smith | A. H. Smith | Rolleston | Rolleston | Rolleston | Billing |
| Hitchin | Dimsdale | Dimsdale | Hudson | Hudson | Hudson | Hudson | Hudson | Bertram | Hillier | Hillier | R. Cecil | R. Cecil |
| St Albans | J. W. Grimston | J. W. Grimston | Gibbs | Gibbs | Gibbs | Gibbs | Slack | Carlile | Carlile | Carlile | Carlile | Carlile |
| Watford | Halsey | Halsey | Halsey | Halsey | Halsey | Halsey | Halsey | Micklem | Ward | Ward | Ward | Ward |

### 1918 to 1955

Anti-Waste League  Conservative  Independent  Labour  Liberal  Silver Badge
| Constituency | 1918 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1929 | 1931 | 33 | 1935 | 37 | 41 | 43 | 1945 | 1950 | 1951 |
| Hertford | Billing | Billing | Billing | Sueter | → | → | → | → | → | → | → | → | → | → | Walker-Smith | Walker-Smith | Walker-Smith |
| Hitchin | R. Cecil | R. Cecil | R. Cecil | R. Cecil | R. Cecil | Kindersley | Kindersley | Kindersley | Knebworth | Wilson | Wilson | Wilson | Berry | Berry | Jones | Fisher | Fisher |
| St Albans | Carlile | Fremantle | Fremantle | Fremantle | Fremantle | Fremantle | Fremantle | Fremantle | Fremantle | Fremantle | Fremantle | Fremantle | Fremantle | J. Grimston | Dumpleton | J. Grimston | J. Grimston |
| Watford | Herbert | Herbert | Herbert | Herbert | Herbert | Herbert | Herbert | Herbert | Herbert | Herbert | Herbert | Herbert | Herbert | Herbert | Freeman | Freeman | Freeman |
| Hemel Hempstead | Talbot | Talbot | J. Davidson | J. Davidson | J. Davidson | Dunn | J. Davidson | J. Davidson | J. Davidson | J. Davidson | J. Davidson | F. Davidson | F. Davidson | F. Davidson | F. Davidson | F. Davidson | F. Davidson |
| Barnet | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Taylor | Maudling | Maudling |
| Hertfordshire SW | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Longden | Longden |

### 1955 to 1983

Conservative  Labour
| Constituency | 1955 | 1959 | 1964 | 1966 | 1970 | Feb 1974 | Oct 1974 | 1979 | 79 |
| Barnet | Maudling | Maudling | Maudling | Maudling | Maudling | Transferred to Greater London | Transferred to Greater London | Transferred to Greater London | Transferred to Greater London |
| Hemel Hempstead | Davidson | Allason | Allason | Allason | Allason | Allason | Corbett | Lyell | Lyell |
| Hertford / Hertford & Stevenage (1974) | Lindsay | Lindsay | Lindsay | Lindsay | Lindsay | Williams | Williams | Wells | Wells |
| Hitchin | Maddan | Maddan | Williams | Williams | Williams | Stewart | Stewart | Stewart | Stewart |
| St Albans | Grimston | Goodhew | Goodhew | Goodhew | Goodhew | Goodhew | Goodhew | Goodhew | Goodhew |
| Watford | Farey-Jones | Farey-Jones | Tuck | Tuck | Tuck | Tuck | Tuck | Garel-Jones | Garel-Jones |
| Hertfordshire SW | Longden | Longden | Longden | Longden | Longden | Dodsworth | Dodsworth | Dodsworth | Page |
| Hertfordshire East | Walker-Smith | Walker-Smith | Walker-Smith | Walker-Smith | Walker-Smith | Walker-Smith | Walker-Smith | Walker-Smith | Walker-Smith |
| Hertfordshire South | | | | | | Parkinson | Parkinson | Parkinson | Parkinson |
| Welwyn and Hatfield | | | | | | Lindsay | Hayman | Murphy | Murphy |

### 1983 to present

Conservative  Independent  Labour  Liberal Democrats
| Constituency | 1983 | 1987 | 1992 | 1997 | 2001 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2017 | 19 | 2019 | 2024 |
| Broxbourne | Roe | Roe | Roe | Roe | Roe | Walker | Walker | Walker | Walker | Walker | Walker | Cocking |
| Harpenden and Berkhamsted | | | | | | | | | | | | Collins |
| West Herts / Hemel Hempstead (1997) | Jones | Jones | Jones | McWalter | McWalter | Penning | Penning | Penning | Penning | Penning | Penning | Taylor |
| Hertford & Stortford | Wells | Wells | Wells | Wells | Prisk | Prisk | Prisk | Prisk | Prisk | Prisk | Marson | Dean |
| North Herts / NE Herts (1997) | Stewart | Stewart | Heald | Heald | Heald | Heald | Heald | Heald | Heald | Heald | Heald | Hinchliff |
| Hertfordshire SW | Page | Page | Page | Page | Page | Gauke | Gauke | Gauke | Gauke | → | Mohindra | Mohindra |
| Hertsmere | Parkinson | Parkinson | Clappison | Clappison | Clappison | Clappison | Clappison | Dowden | Dowden | Dowden | Dowden | Dowden |
| Hitchin & Harpenden / Hitchin (2024)$^1$ | | | | Lilley | Lilley | Lilley | Lilley | Lilley | Afolami | Afolami | Afolami | Strathern |
| St Albans | Lilley | Lilley | Lilley | Pollard | Pollard | Main | Main | Main | Main | Main | Cooper | Cooper |
| Stevenage | Wood | Wood | Wood | Follett | Follett | Follett | McPartland | McPartland | McPartland | McPartland | McPartland | Bonavia |
| Watford | Garel-Jones | Garel-Jones | Garel-Jones | Ward | Ward | Ward | Harrington | Harrington | Harrington | Harrington | Russell | Turmaine |
| Welwyn and Hatfield | Murphy | Evans | Evans | Johnson | Johnson | Shapps | Shapps | Shapps | Shapps | Shapps | Shapps | Lewin |
$^1$includes an area of Bedfordshire